1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a directory information exploitation system having a directory server which stores directory information.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional directory information exploitation systems are able to retrieve directory information stored in a directory server to select entry information and display the selected entry information and also to acquire a mail address based on the directory information retrieved under specified retrieval conditions according to a mail transmission software function.
However, those conventional directory information exploitation systems are incapable of displaying the retrieved directory information in a tree structure, selecting entry information by following the tree structure, and activating a desired application using the selected entry information to call a service thereof or call a service of a desired application which has already been activated.
In order to utilize a desired application using directory information stored in a directory server, it is necessary for the system user to transfer entry information to an input section of the application either manually or using a cut-and-paste function of the OS (Operating System). Alternatively, it is necessary to convert entry information into a data format such as LDIF (LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) Directory Interchange Format) or CSV (Comma Separated Values), save the converted entry information in an external file, and read the external file from the application.
In either case, the user needs to perform complex operations in order to utilize the desired application using the directory information stored in the directory server.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a directory information exploitation system which allows the user to utilize a desired application using directory information stored in a directory server without performing complex operations.
According to the present invention, a directory information exploitation system has a plurality of external objects associated respectively with a plurality of external applications/external services. An external object selected on a client computer by the user of the directory information exploitation system converts entry information which is selected on the client computer by the user from directory information stored in a directory server into a data format that can be processed by the external applications/external services, and transferred to the external applications/external services.
Therefore, the user can utilize external applications/external services simply by selecting desired entry information and an external object on the client computer. The user is thus not required to perform complex operations in utilizing external applications/external services using directory information.
The user can utilize the plural external applications/external services on one client computer by switching between the external objects.
The external applications/external services can utilize directory information stored in the directory server even if the external applications/external services do not have a function to access the directory server and hence have their functions limited.
The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate examples of the present invention.